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Social entrepreneurship and urban tourism as economic development: best practices from Long Beach, California

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND URBAN TOURISM AS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: BEST PRACTICES FROM
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
by
Elton Fred Massey II
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF POLICY, PLANNING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF POLICY, PLANNING, AND DEVELOPMENT
December 2008
Copyright 2008 Elton Fred Massey II

From the rise of civilization, cities have acted as marketplaces for the exchange of goods and ideas. Globalization has transformed the city and its citizens. The future is bright for such global metropolitan regions such as Los Angeles and New York; how-ever, the individual communities that constitute those regions have become secondary places and must become distinct places in order to survive. This Planning, Design, and Development project provides a best practices for social entrepreneurs to use themed urban tourism to direct the economic development activities of their communities.; The research question that guided this study was the following: What practices can the social entrepreneur employ to determine and direct a downtown district’s theme formation process? Related questions include the following: 1. What is the effect of globalization on the world’s cities, and how is tourism being used to respond? 2. Who is the modern tourist? 3. What makes a city a tourist attraction? 4. What local themes can the social entrepreneur use to initiate and manage the transformative process?; This study used downtown Long Beach, California, as a case study to develop the best practices, employing opinions, evaluations, and scholarly sources to answer the research questions. Collected data interviews with government officials, real estate professionals, and the researcher’s professional contacts.; Selected findings were as follows: 1. Cities are global places and are subject to global forces. 2. Tourism has become an important economic force. Many cities now consider tourism as their economic lynchpin. 3. Distinctiveness is determined by the degree a city’s theme connects a people to a place and transforms that place into an attraction. 4. Civic leadership is a key element of community survival and growth. 5. A community’s theme can be derived from the local population’s culture and hybridity.; Conclusions and recommendations were the following: 1. A successful economic development program can use a theme to appeal to all social classes. 2. The social entrepreneur can study a community history and culture to find a marketable theme to brand.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND URBAN TOURISM AS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: BEST PRACTICES FROM
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
by
Elton Fred Massey II
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF POLICY, PLANNING,
AND DEVELOPMENT
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF POLICY, PLANNING, AND DEVELOPMENT
December 2008
Copyright 2008 Elton Fred Massey II